Page 70 of Promise of Darkness
It’s rare they meet in person—the rites only—and with tension lingering between several of the kingdoms, it’s probably a wise decision.
I hurry inside the enormous tower chamber that Thalia leads me to, steps slowing when I see the six enormous throne-like chairs set in a circle around the room. Five I can understand, but six?
In the middle of the chairs lies a floor of polished marble, inlaid with thousands upon thousands of bronze glyphs. Light streams down through a hollow circle in the middle of the ceiling, landing directly in the center of the circle.
Thiago gestures to the chair by his side. “Vi.”
I stare at it like it’s comprised of iron nails. “You want me to sit with the Alliance?”
Has he been drinking this morning?
“Yes.” A faint smile curls over his mouth. “Don’t you want to watch your mother turn an interesting shade of red?”
“Tempting as that may be… I would prefer not to draw her ire.”
“You don’t think you’ve already drawn it?” He gestures for wine, and Thalia begins pouring two cups. “Besides, you’re my witness. You’re the only other person who’s seen what is happening at Mistmere. They won’t believeme, but they can’t dispute that you’re not my ally.”
Oh, I see. “Now you’re throwing me to the wolves. I thought we’d sued for peace following the hunting cabin, but you were merely biding your time.”
“Sit, Vi. It’s just a chair.”
“You are merciless, and I shan’t forget this,” I tell him, sinking reluctantly onto the chair. “Check your bed tonight. You might find a nasty surprise in it.”
“If you’re anywhere near my bed, then it can only be considered pleasant,” he murmurs as the bell hanging in the tower above us begins to ring.
It’s a sign of an incoming guest.
The Queen of Aska forms right in the stream of light, her long dark hair looking ethereal in the silvery light of her astral form. She tilts her head to us, eyes locking on me and narrowing slightly, before she moves toward the chair to the left of me. “I assume you have due cause for calling a meeting.”
Queen Maren is the reason we ward ourselves at night with woven dreamcatchers over the bed. If the bells in the catcher tinkle, then it’s said that she’s tampering with your dreams. Sometimes, she’ll send her winged dream-spawn to seduce a sleeping soul.
“Cause enough,” Thiago replies coldly, slipping into the mantle of prince.
It’s interesting to note that he sheds that mantle with me. I hadn’t even realized that I was given insight into the inner workings of his mind, rather than dealing with this imperious bastard.
The bells ring again and the stream of silvery light misting in the center of the room turns into Lucidia, the Queen of Ravenal.
Her white hair is a shock of startling light in this ethereal form, and for a second I see a smooth oval face overlaid over her wrinkled features. A queen in her prime, as she must have been many, many years ago. Then she flickers and becomes the old crone I know.
Sinking into her chair, she curls her gnarled hands over the arms. “You had best not be wasting my time, princeling.”
“I don’t intend to.”
The bells ring again, and I can sense the tension in the room.
It’s either the prince’s ally, or an enemy.
My mother shimmers into view, and apart from my fireplace, it’s the first time I’ve been face-to-face with her, as it were, since she sent me here.
Enemy, then.
Adaia looks every inch a queen girding herself for war, clad in a long metallic dress created from scales of silver. Rings glitter on her fingers, and she’s wearing the Crown of Thorns as well as what looks like half a stick of kohl.
She glances at me, stiffens, then glances again.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the prince’s court is the fact there’s no need to stand on formalities. I’m tired of being her pretty little peacock. Though I’m not Andraste, partial as she is to polished leather and practical braids. I do like pretty things.
The berry-colored tunic I borrowed from Thalia is my compromise. Beneath it, I wear tight black leggings and leather boots that are laced to my thighs. Adaia’s dagger resides in the sheath at my hip—her eyes light up when she sees it—and several heavy gold cuffs rest on my wrist. Thalia even gave me a circlet of golden thorns that I can wear as an armband.
